Aubrac () is a volcanic and granitic plateau located in the south-central Massif Central of France. This region has been a member of the

Natura 2000 Natura 2000 is a network of nature protection areas in the territory of the European Union. It is made up of Special Areas of Conservation and Special Protection Areas designated under the Habitats Directive and the Birds Directive, respectiv ...

network since August 2006. It straddles three ''

département In the administrative divisions of France, the department (, ) is one of the three levels of government under the national level (" territorial collectivities"), between the administrative regions and the communes. There are a total of 101 ...

s'' (

Cantal Cantal (; or ) is a rural Departments of France, department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Regions of France, region of France, with its Prefectures in France, prefecture in Aurillac. Its other principal towns are Saint-Flour, Cantal, Saint-Flou ...

Aveyron Aveyron (; ) is a Departments of France, department in the Regions of France, region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitania, Southern France. It was named after the river Aveyron (river), Aveyron. Its inhabitants are known as ''Aveyro ...

and

Lozère Lozère (; ) is a landlocked Departments of France, department in the Regions of France, region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitanie in Southern France, located near the Massif Central, bounded to the northeast by Haute-Loire, to the ...

) and three '' régions'' (

Auvergne Auvergne (; ; or ) is a cultural region in central France. As of 2016 Auvergne is no longer an administrative division of France. It is generally regarded as conterminous with the land area of the historical Province of Auvergne, which was dis ...

Midi-Pyrénées Midi-Pyrénées (; or ; ) is a former administrative region of France. Since 1 January 2016, it has been part of the new region of Occitania. It was the largest region of Metropolitan France by area, larger than the Netherlands or Denmark. ...

and

Languedoc-Roussillon Languedoc-Roussillon (; ; ) is a former regions of France, administrative region of France. On 1 January 2016, it joined with the region of Midi-Pyrénées to become Occitania (administrative region), Occitania. It comprised five departments o ...

). The village of the same name is located in this region.

Geography, geology

Aubrac is a volcanic and granitic plateau that extends over an area of 1,500 km². The volcanic eruptions occurred between 6 and 9 million year ago and were of Hawaiian type with fluid lavas. There are therefore no individual volcanic cones. The volcanic zone occupies the west side while the other part of the plateau is formed of granite. The average altitude is about 1,200 meters with the highest point at 1,469 meters ( Signal de Mailhebiau) in the south. All the region has been eroded by glaciers during three glacial periods. The Aubrac includes four

glacial lakes A glacial lake is a body of water with origins from glacier activity. They are formed when a glacier erodes the land and then melts, filling the depression created by the glacier. Formation Near the end of the last glacial period, roughly 10,0 ...

: lac des Salhiens, lac de Saint-Andéol, lac de Souveyrols and lac de Born. In the south, the highest summits of the Aubrac dominate the Lot valley, which lies 1,000 m below.

Economy

Bovine breeding is the main activity on the plateau. Aubrac has its own bovine species called "Aubrac", which is well adapted to the environment. The cows are bred for their meat while, before the 1960s, they were bred for their dairy products. The milk was made into cheese in "burons" or " mazucs ", which are small structures in the middle of the pastures. Today, the majority of these structures are in ruin. The "

Laguiole Laguiole (; ''La Guiòla'' in Languedocien) is a commune in the southern French department of Aveyron. It is known for its Laguiole cheese, which has an ''Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée'' (label of guaranteed origin), and as the birthp ...

" (pronounced "Layole") cheese is now only made by a dairy in the village of Laguiole and resembles Cantal cheese. The region is also known for its knife industry. It is here that the

Laguiole knife The Laguiole knife (, locally ) is a traditional Occitan pocketknife originally produced in the "knife city" of Thiers, source of 70% of France's cutting tool production, as well as the small village of Laguiole, both located in the Massif Cent ...

is made by around thirty local craftsmen. The factory of Forge de Laguiole was designed by Phillippe Starck.

History

By 1000 BC, the Celts had occupied the region. In the period of

Roman Gaul Roman Gaul refers to GaulThe territory of Gaul roughly corresponds to modern-day France, Belgium and Luxembourg, and adjacent parts of the Netherlands, Switzerland and Germany. under provincial rule in the Roman Empire from the 1st century B ...

, Gaulish tribes called Gabalians (Lozère) and Rutènians (Aveyron) occupied the area.

Julius Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (12 or 13 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC) was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in Caesar's civil wa ...

stated that the Gabalians were survivors of the

Battle of Alesia The Battle of Alesia or siege of Alesia (September 52 BC) was the climactic military engagement of the Gallic Wars, fought around the Gauls, Gallic ''oppidum'' (fortified settlement) of Alesia (city), Alesia in modern France, a major centre ...

. Their capital Anderitum became Javols. The Rutenians, who may have come from the

Danube The Danube ( ; see also #Names and etymology, other names) is the List of rivers of Europe#Longest rivers, second-longest river in Europe, after the Volga in Russia. It flows through Central and Southeastern Europe, from the Black Forest sou ...

delta and who gave their name to the

Rouergue Rouergue (; ) is a former province of France, corresponding roughly with the modern department of Aveyron. Its historical capital is Rodez. It is bounded on the north by Auvergne, on the south and southwest by Languedoc, on the east by Géva ...

, became allied with

Vercingetorix Vercingetorix (; ; – 46 BC) was a Gauls, Gallic king and chieftain of the Arverni tribe who united the Gauls in a failed revolt against Roman Republic, Roman forces during the last phase of Julius Caesar's Gallic Wars. After surrendering to C ...

. In the early

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

, Grégory of Tours recorded an incident of a

Pagan Paganism (, later 'civilian') is a term first used in the fourth century by early Christians for people in the Roman Empire who practiced polytheism, or ethnic religions other than Christianity, Judaism, and Samaritanism. In the time of the ...

rite Rite may refer to: Religion * Ritual, an established ceremonious act * Rite (Christianity), sacred rituals in the Christian religion * Ritual family, Christian liturgical traditions; often also called ''liturgical rites'' * Catholic particular ch ...

at the lake near Mount Hélanus. Later, a

pilgrim The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , , "little star", is a typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a heraldic star. Computer scientists and mathematicians often vocalize it as ...

of St. James, Adallard (a Flemish

viscount A viscount ( , for male) or viscountess (, for female) is a title used in certain European countries for a noble of varying status. The status and any domain held by a viscount is a viscounty. In the case of French viscounts, the title is ...

), survived after a fight in the area; out of gratitude to

God In monotheistic belief systems, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. In polytheistic belief systems, a god is "a spirit or being believed to have created, or for controlling some part of the un ...

he built the Dômerie (hospital) at Aubrac. The village of Aubrac grew around the hospital. The Dômerie was home to

monk A monk (; from , ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a man who is a member of a religious order and lives in a monastery. A monk usually lives his life in prayer and contemplation. The concept is ancient and can be seen in many reli ...

s and the knights of the Order of Aubrac until the French Revolution. The monks fed and sheltered passing pilgrims, and rang a "Bell of the Lost" during times of snow. The rules of life at the Dômerie in

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

dating from the

are available in an online version. In the 11th century, a certain Gilbert, who married Tiburge, countess of

Provence Provence is a geographical region and historical province of southeastern France, which stretches from the left bank of the lower Rhône to the west to the France–Italy border, Italian border to the east; it is bordered by the Mediterrane ...

, appointed himself count of Gévaudan. This Gilbert had a daughter,

Douce I, Countess of Provence Douce I (also Dulcia or Dolça, called "of Rouergue" or "of Gévaudan") ( – 1127) was the daughter of Gilbert I of Gévaudan and Gerberga of Provence and wife of Ramon Berenguer III, Count of Barcelona. In 1112, she inherited the county of ...

, who was married to Ramon Berenguer,

Count of Barcelona The count of Barcelona (, , , ) was the ruler of the County of Barcelona and also, by extension and according with the Usages of Barcelona, Usages and Catalan constitutions, of the Principality of Catalonia as Prince#Prince as generic for ruler, p ...

, and brought him all the rights to Gévaudan, Aubrac, and

Carladès Carladès, or Carladez, is a natural region and pays in France located in the center-west of the Massif Central. The area spans the departments of Cantal and Aveyron. Its origins date back to the ancient viscounty of Carlat, a subdivision of the ...

. The rule of the counts of Barcelona in Gévaudan gave rise to a serious argument with the bishop of Mende, who considered himself lord and count of the country. After many local conflicts and the war between the lords of

Armagnac Armagnac (, ) is a distinctive kind of brandy produced in the Armagnac (region), Armagnac region in Gascony, southwest France. It is distilled from wine usually made from a blend of grapes including Baco 22A, Colombard, Folle blanche and Ugni ...

's French kings Charles VII and

Louis XI Louis XI (3 July 1423 – 30 August 1483), called "Louis the Prudent" (), was King of France from 1461 to 1483. He succeeded his father, Charles VII. Louis entered into open rebellion against his father in a short-lived revolt known as the ...

this country lost its true identity. However, the pilgrim route to

Santiago de Compostela Santiago de Compostela, simply Santiago, or Compostela, in the province of Province of A Coruña, A Coruña, is the capital of the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Galicia (Spain), Galicia, in northwestern Spain. The city ...

has always brought many visitors.

Culture

Every last weekend of August, a literary festival takes place in Aubrac: Rencontres aubrac

Photo gallery

Image:Aubrac1.JPG, Aubrac landscape Image:Aubrac2.JPG, Aubrac landscape Image:Aubrac3.JPG, Aubrac town & country Image:Aubrac4.JPG, Aubrac landscape

References

Medieval latin text

Settlements in the Aubrac Region

* Albaret-le-Comtal * Alpuech * Anterrieux * Arzenc-d'Apcher * Aurelle-Verlac * Bonnefon * Brameloup * Brion * Cassuéjouls * Chauchailles *

Chaudes-Aigues Chaudes-Aigues (; , ) is a commune in the Cantal department in south-central France. It is a spa town, famous for its hot spring waters. Geography The commune is situated in the Massif Central in Aubrac. Its inhabitants are called the ''Ca ...

* La Chaze-de-Peyre * Condom-d'Aubrac * Curières * Deux-Verges * Espinasse * Fau-de-Peyre * Fournels * Fridefont * Grandvals * Jabrun * La Fage-Montivernoux * La Trinitat * Lacalm *

* Les Hermaux * Les Salces * Lieutadès * Lunet * Maurines * Montézic * Montpeyroux * Noalhac * Prades-d'Aubrac * Prinsuéjols * Recoules-d'Aubrac * Saint-Juéry * Saint-Chély-d'Aubrac * Saint-Laurent-de-Muret * Saint-Laurent-de-Veyrès * Saint-Martial * Sainte-Colombe-de-Peyre * Saint-Rémy * Saint-Urcize * Salgues * Soulages-Bonneval * Termes * Trélans

References

External links

Campsite La RomiguiereAligot-Saucisse : Aveyron, that's good!Official site of AubracBulletin board of AveyronOfficial Site of Saint-Chély d'Aubrac
*
Les Rencontres d'Aubrac, a literary festival about mythologyAubrac
{{Authority control Subranges of the Massif Central Volcanoes of Metropolitan France Miocene volcanoes Extinct volcanoes of Europe Landforms of Aveyron Landforms of Cantal Landforms of Lozère Plateaus of Metropolitan France